Castilian Garlic Soup
The three essential ingredients in this soup--garlic, bread, and water--all need to be of good quality. Do not be tempted into thinking that stock is an improvement since it masks the other flavors. Beyond that, though, you can improvise around the local variations in ingredients: lard is used rather than olive oil in Zamora, for example, and pepper seeds and chopped tomatoes are added in León. You can also sauté the garlic first. Usually the bread is broken into small pieces so it swells into sops, but I like this fried-bread version given to me by Vale Riana, who was born in the Burgos countryside but cooked for a Madrid family for thirty years. Garlic soup was often eaten early on winter morning before going out into the bitter cold, and I really enjoy it that way.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

3 cups water
4 plump garlic cloves, peeled
3 inch length of French bread or an equivalent chunk of coarse crusty bread, not processed or steam baked, and at least 1 day old
3 oz olive oil
1-2 tsp pimentón de la Vera smoked paprika (mild, bittersweet or spicy-hot)
Salt
4 eggs

Preparation:

Heat the water in a flameproof casserole. Chop or pound the garlic to a paste, using a mortar and pestle, a garlic press, or the blade of a knife. Add the garlic to the water and leave it to cook through for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the bread very thinly (leave the crust on) and fry it in the olive oil, sprinkling a little pimentón and salt in the oil. Add the bread and oil to the water and simmer gently for another 10-15 minutes. You can leave the soup for several hours or overnight at this stage.

Just before serving, poach the eggs in the soup: break each egg, in turn, into a ladle and lower into the soup. Remove from the heat as soon as the white is set and serve into deep bowls. The idea is to stir the soup around so the egg breaks and continues cooking in threads.

Buen provecho! We've put together this in-depth guide to Spanish foods for your reference and enjoyment. Within these pages you can learn more about how our Spanish food products are prepared for market, and how to use them in your home. We've included several charts to help you pick the the product that's right for you, and lots of extra information, too.

Enjoy your reading!

Spain's Regional Cooking

While certain dishes are common across Spain, each of its regions offer particular culinary pleasures

Alicia
This region is known for savory empanadas made with meat and fish; hearty caldo gallego (Galician soup) made with greens, beans, and meats; wonderfully moist country breads; and bountiful seafood, including scallops still attached to their shells.

Asturias
The cuisine of this land of spectacularly abrupt green mountains and rugged coastlines features fabada bean stew, Cabrales blue cheese aged in mountain caves, salmon, trout, and hard apple cider.

Basque Country
Food is preeminent in Basque culture, where traditional male-only gourmet clubs still flourish. Dishes made with the freshest fish coexist with classic preparations based on the traditional salt cod.

Aragon
The highest peaks of the Spanish Pyrenees offer a dramatic backdrop for this region. Navarra is renowned for its trout streams and the legendary running of the bulls; La Rioja is celebrated for its wines. Both border the fertile valley of the Ebro River. The peppers that grow here are essential to such regional dishes as chilindron stews of lamb or chicken and traditional vegetable medleys. Delicate fire-roasted piquillo peppers, sauteed or stuffed, have recently captured the attention of the wider culinary world for their versatility and flavor.

Cataluna
This privileged region encompasses the Pyrenees and its valleys, the agricultural lands of La Cerdanya and L'Emporda, the stunning Costa Brava, and Barcelona, where fine eating is a way of life. Catalan cooks are fond of sweet and savory combinations, and of sauces flavored and thickened with almonds, pine nuts, and hazelnuts (like the saucein the fish medley romesco de pescado).

Valencia
The orange groves of this region alternate with vast, swampy rice fields. Paella valenciana, the classic rice dish, was created here.

Andalucia
Hillsides in this region are lined with the olive trees responsible for the exceptional oils essential to Spanish cooking. Andalusians still accent their cooking with Eastern spices inherited from the Moors. Chilled gazpachos, both red and white, are wonderfully refreshing in Andalucia's warm sunny climate; so, too, are shellfish vinaigrettes drizzled with the region's superb sherry vinegar. Iberian ham is revered for its singular texture and nutty flavor. Devotees will recognize the name Jabugo, the town where hams by the hundreds of thousands cure in cool mountain caves.

Castilla
Although Madrid is at the center of landlocked Castilla (comprising Castilla y Leon to the north and Castilla La Mancha to the south), the freshest seafood is rushed overnight from every coast to satisfy the locals' demanding palates. Other gastronomic pleasures from the region: chorizo, Spain's typical sausage spiced with garlic and paprika; manchego, sheep's milk cheese; garlic soups and bean stews; and suckling pig and baby lamb, roasted in wood-burning, brick-vaulted ovens.
Posted by Donna on Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 05:16 PM
Filed in: Soups & Stews • ◊ Permalink


Page 1 of 1 pages